Shoe having inside stay-on strap



Feb. 15, 1966 N. E. BOVAY A 3,234,667

SHOE HAVING INSIDE STAY-ON STRAP Filed. July 1, 1963 INVENTOR NORMAN BOVAY GENT,

United States Patent 3,234,667 SHOE HAVING INSIDE STAY-0N STRAP Norman E. Bovay, Seymour, Conu., assignor to United States Rubber Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed July 1, 1963, Ser. No. 291,721 3 Claims. (Cl. 362.5)

This invention relates to a shoe construction, and more particularly it relates to an improved shoe having means for keeping the shoe more firmly on the foot, such means comprising relatively inextensible, flexible members inside the shoe extending from the inside heel area at the rear of the shoe to the instep, where the upper ends of the members may be joined.

The invention is particularly applicable to sports type of shoes, especially low cut sports oxfords such as basketball shoes or football shoes. conventionally constructed shoes have an inherent hazard in active sports, and also in outdoor work of various kinds, in that the shoes are liable to come off unexpectedly under unusual stresses. Thus, in playing, low cut basketball shoes are often inadvertently pulled from the heel by another player during the game. In fact, it has been suggested on this account that low shoes be banned in basketball.

The invention is directed to a means for overcoming the described hazard by providing relatively inextensible members, such as straps, tapes, lace pieces or the like, of cloth, leather, plastic or the like, or combinations of these or any other suitable material, which are securely attached on the inside of the shoe, for example by sewing or the like. Two such strap portions, one on each side of the shoe, are attached at their lower ends to the inside heel area, for example to the bottom of the counter area, and extend upwardly and forwardly, that is, in a diagonal direction, to the instep. Instead of being two separate pieces, the strap means of the invention may be a single continuous piece extending across the heel and upwardly diagonally on each side inside the shoe; the upwardly extending ends of such single piece will hereinafter he referred to as straps even though in actuality only one continuous piece need be used to provide the two strap portions. The free portions of the strap means come together at their tops or forward ends at the instep where they may be provided with means for fastening such ends together, such as eyelets through which the ends may be joined by a lace, or the ends may be provided with clips or any other suitable fastenings that can be opened to take the shoe off and secured to keep the shoe on.

In accordance with an important feature of the invention the straps extend to an area on the instep corresponding to the area of the first (topmost) eyelet on the upper, thus providing for ease of lacing, as well as providing good appearance in the shoe.

The invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a basketball shoe embodying inside strap or straps in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the shoe of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a shoe (which may be entirely of conventional construction except for the inside strap or straps of the invention) having a cloth upper or upper made of any other suitable material, attached to an elastomeric sole 11. As in conventional practice, the shoe has a counter portion 12 which fits snugly around the back of the foot. In accordance with the invention the construction includes two straps 13, 14, which are actually, in this particular form of the invention, the free ends of one continuous strap 15 (FIG. 3) fastened across the inside of the heel, under the usual insole or lining 16. It will be understood that if the straps are separate pieces their lower ends are fastened to the inside heel area at the rear sides of the shoe where the sides of the counter join the heel. In the invention as illustrated the straps are otherwise loose or free of attachment to the inside of the shoe, and they proceed diagonally inside the shoe up to the first (top) eyelets 17, 18 of the shoe. At their top ends the straps similarly have eyelets 19, 20 for lacing the ends of the straps together to hold the shoe securely on the foot. The straps pass between the usual tongue member 22 and the upper. The eyelets 19, 20 on the sraps are in general alignment with the top eyelets 17, 18 of the shoe so that the shoelace 21 used for lacing the shoe in the ordinary manner also serves for securing the ends of the straps together and for pulling the straps taut around the foot so that there is no possibility of the shoe being pulled off accidentally. As is best seen in FIG. 4, in a preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated the eyelets 19, 20 of the strap means are displaced slightly rearwardly and downwardly along the axis of the straps toward the heel, in comparison to the eyelets 17, 18 of the shoe upper itself, so that as the lace is drawn tight there will be a tendency for the ends of the straps to be pulled together even more tightly than the upper itself, thus insuring a most secure fastening of the shoe to the foot.

There is thus provided an absolute means of holding the shoe on the foot. The only requirement of the strap is that the angle and line of its upper edge must go from the area of the top eyelet of the upper to a point at the extreme heel inside the shoe. The strap may be of any width and is generally wide enough to be comfortable to the wearer when tightly fastened.

The strap means, positioned and attached as described, provides great flexibility in lacing as well as adaptability to variation in instep height with subsequent comfort for the wearer.

The invention accordingly makes it possible to keep low cut shoes on the foot substantially as securely as was heretofore thought to be feasible only with shoes having high uppers.

The invention is of course distinct from the known practice, in high-cut shoes, of providing reinforcing strips or the like fastened along their length to the upper for the purpose of giving added support. Unlike such reinforcing strips, the present straps do not add undesirable stiffness, and they perform a new function represented by their action in keeping the low-cut shoe on the foot, which is not a problem in high-cut shoes.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A low-cut oxford type shoe having a pair of free straps in its interior, attached only to the inside of the bottom of the shoe at the rear portion of the heel area of the shoe and extending diagonally forwardly and upwardly from said attachment throughout the entire free length of the straps, the upper ends of the straps terminating at the instep, and means for fastening said upper ends securely together with the straps in a taut condition to hold the shoe securely on the foot.

2. A low-cut oxford type shoe having eyelets along the instep for lacing the shoe and having a pair of free straps in its interior, attached only at their lower ends to the inside of the bottom of the shoe at the rear portion of the heel area of the shoe and extending diagonally forwardly and upwardly from said attachment throughout the entire free length of the straps, the upper ends of the straps terminating at the instep at a point corresponding to the top eyelet on a low shoe, and means for fastening said upper ends securely together with the straps in a taut condition to hold the shoe securely on the foot. y

3. A low-cut oxford type basketball shoe having a sole and an upper, said upper having a counter portion which fits snugly around the back of the foot of the wearer, and said upper having eyelets along the instep for lacing the shoe, inextensible strap means inside the shoe on each side thereof, said strap means being secured only inside the bottom of the shoe at the rear portion of the heel area, said strap means having free portions extending diagonally upwardly and forwardly, along the entire free length of the strap means from the place where the strap means is secured, as far as the instep and terminating in the area of the top eyelets of the upper on each side thereof, the upper end of each of said free portions of the strap means having an eyelet spaced rearwardly and downwardly from the top eyelet of the upper on each side of the shoe, where- 4 by when the shoe is laced tightly with a lace extending through said top eyelets of the upper and the said eyelets of the strap means, the strap means is drawn taut enough to keep the shoe from being pulled from the foot in normall basketball playing activity.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,759,034 5/1930 Blair 36-58.5 1,986,580 1/1935 Johnson 362.5 2,096,677 10/1937 Fassett 36-2.5 2,539,761 1/1951 Whitman 362.5 2,591,211 4/1952 Spencer 3658.5 X

FOREIGN PATENTS 365,383 1/1932 Great Britain.

FRANK J. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Examiner. 

1. A LOW-CUT OXFORD TYPE SHOE HAVING A PAIR OF FREE STRAPS IN ITS INTERIOR, ATTACHED ONLY TO THE INSIDE OF THE BOTTOM OF THE SHOE AT THE REAR PORTION OF THE HEEL AREA OF THE SHOE AND EXTENDING DIAGONALLY FORWARDLY AND UPWARDLY FROM SAID ATTACHMENT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE FREE LENGTH OF THE STRAPS, THE UPPER ENDS OF THE STRAPS TERMINATING AT THE INSTEP, AND MEANS FOR FASTENING SAID UPPER ENDS SECURELY TOGETHER WITH THE STRAPS IN A TAUT CONDITION TO HOLD THE SHOE SECURELY ON THE FOOT. 